By: Cheryl Angelelli
Twenty-one beautiful women in sparkling tiaras anxiously arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan this August to compete for the title of Ms. Wheelchair America (MWA) 2025. Although diverse in age, ethnicity, occupations and types of disabilities, they share a sisterhood and bond that comes from their shared experience of navigating the world in a wheelchair.
But don’t be fooled by the sash and crown, the MWA competition is not a beauty pageant. It is instead a competition to recognize advocacy, achievement and leadership. MWA seeks to select the best spokesperson to dispel stereotypes, promote inclusion and champion change so that persons with disabilities can live fully. Advocacy is at the heart of MWA’s mission, and each woman chooses a platform that is personal to them.
On the night of August 24 in Grand Rapids, it was Ms. Wheelchair Kansas Tamara Blackwell who was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America 2025. She’ll spend the next year traveling around the country promoting her platform about navigating life in an inaccessible world and advocating for more inclusion.
Whether the women go home with a national title or not, they gain so much more, such as friendship, confidence and invaluable life skills. For many, the experience is life changing.
I speak from personal experience. In 1991, I was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Michigan and first runner-up MWA 1992. It was a major turning point in my life. I was very young, still trying to find my identity after my 1983 spinal cord injury and looking for friends who understood my unique challenges. I had never met someone in a wheelchair until that point in my life, and these accomplished women from all walks of life inspired me to believe there was nothing I could not accomplish. They helped me become fearless and showcase my talents. They also helped me find my voice as an advocate for change and equality.
I truly believe I would not be working in the public relations field today, nor would I have become a
four-time Paralympic swimming medalist and motivational speaker, had it not been for the MWA program.
MWA was founded in 1972 by Dr. Philip K. Wood in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Wood, a general practitioner, was involved in a life-changing car accident in which he sustained life-threatening injuries. As a result of that accident, along with the long recovery process, he was motivated to go back to medical school and become a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician so he could help others recovering from disabling injuries. Inspired by his patients, Dr. Wood wanted to give women who used wheelchairs a platform to showcase their stories, talents and capabilities.
For more than 50 years, the caliber of state and national titleholders is nothing short of impressive. Among them are medical professionals, elected officials, lawyers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, and elite athletes, among others. Just as impressive as these women’s backgrounds are what they have been able to accomplish as Ms. Wheelchair America.
One of the oldest living MWA titleholders is Diana Kenderian, who represented the state of New Jersey and was crowned MWA 1975. Kenderian fought for equal access to education. Born with cerebral palsy long before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted, she had to fight for every opportunity to be seen and heard.
“I was bussed three hours a day to a special school because the local elementary school would not accept me. Later, when I got to high school the janitorial staff had to carry me upstairs to get to class,” she says.
Access did not improve once Kenderian got to college at Boston University. She had to fight for curb cuts and ramps. In 1975, she became the first woman in a wheelchair to graduate from the School of Social Work at Boston University. After graduating she wanted to become more knowledgeable about law so she could help advocate for herself and others with disabilities. She went to Rutgers Law School and graduated with a law degree in 1978. “Having a platform gave me an opportunity to not only make the world more physically accessible but also socially acceptable,” she says.
Kathy Garcia-Farnsworth, Ms. Wheelchair Utah and MWA 1990, used her platform to lobby for the congressional passage of the ADA. She was on the White House lawn to watch President George H. W. Bush sign the law into effect on July 26, 1990.
Dr. Alette Coble-Temple of California was crowned MWA 2016. During her reign she traveled to 41 states and three countries promoting public acceptance and advancing policies to help people with disabilities realize their dream of having a family.
During MWA’s history, there has been a representative from 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. To date, there have been over 1,000 state titleholders who have helped facilitate positive changes in their communities and demonstrate that people with disabilities can lead productive and meaningful lives.
I asked Shelly Loose, MWA President and Ms. Wheelchair Michigan 2007, why MWA continues to be relevant today. “I think one of the reasons MWA has endured for 50 years is that it changes women’s lives and they find they are part of a sisterhood that didn’t exist. And year after year you are bringing in new sisters and you see the positive ripple effect and the impact their advocacy makes,” says Loose. “Just imagine how much more we’ll be able to accomplish in the next 50 years.”
I am so grateful for all the women I have met over the years in the MWA sisterhood, and I love following the MWA Alumni Facebook page to see all the amazing things they continue to do in their lives and community.
They say when you find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, who empower you, celebrate you and lift you up, you have found your tribe. MWA is my tribe.
Learn more about MWA at mswheelchairamerica.org or email Rebecca Sentell at Rebecca@mswheelchairamerica.org.
